


The Hand I Hold

by summerbutterfly



Series: MakoRin [5]
Category: Free!
Genre: Bonding, Established Relationship, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Romantic Friendship, White Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-16
Updated: 2014-03-16
Packaged: 2018-01-15 23:00:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1322488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/summerbutterfly/pseuds/summerbutterfly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin has something he wants Makoto to see.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Hand I Hold

**Author's Note:**

  * For [risotto](https://archiveofourown.org/users/risotto/gifts).



> For Risotto in Miaou's [ Iwatobi White Day Exchange 2014](http://iwatobiwhiteday.dreamwidth.org%22). I'm not sure where exactly it fits in with the timeline of my MakoRin series, but I'm putting it there just because. 
> 
> Beta'd quickly, so pardon any typos.

The text comes through just before 2 a.m. Eyes half open, Makoto reaches for the phone.

_You awake?_

Makoto yawns. _I am now._

_Good. Check this out._

There's a moment or two of silence, then another buzz. Makoto's eyes widen, and he stares at the phone for several long minutes before responding.

_When did you take that?_

_Just now._

_Where are you?_

_Outside. Get down here._

He's out of bed before he even thinks about it. His parents are out of town, but his brother and sister are frighteningly light sleepers, so he takes great care not to make too much noise as he unlocks the door and pushes back the screen. Rin is there, phone in hand, jacket open, striped pajama pants sitting low on his hips. 

"Rin," Makoto whispers. "What..."

"Come with me." 

Rin pulls him outside. There's a full moon, and it casts a weird silver-blue glow over the ground. Barefoot, Makoto allows himself be dragged to the end of the walkway, but he balks when Rin tries to continue down the stone steps toward the street. 

"Rin..." 

"What?"

"This is far enough, isn't it?"

"No."

Makoto frowns and tries to pull away. 

Rin grunts in frustration. "You can't _see_ them from here, Makoto, come on." 

"But..."

Rin tugs hard and Makoto stumbles forward. Rin grins and Makoto finally just gives in, following as Rin leads him out of the neighborhood and across the street to the deserted beach.

"There. See?" Rin points excitedly at the horizon. At first, Makoto can't see anything, but as his eyes adjust, the dark shapes become visible. The ocean is calm, so once he spots them, he can clearly identify their movements- jumping and diving, powerful bodies gliding through the gentle surf. They are beautiful, graceful and effortless, and Makoto sucks in a breath.

"Wow," he murmurs. "I don't think I've ever seen them in this close before."

"I know, right?" Rin is still grinning, and it dawns on Makoto that he hasn't seen Rin smile like this since they were kids. "Let's get closer!"

"What?" Makoto takes an involuntary step back. "Rin, it's dark! And those are wild animals, we shouldn't..."

Rin's jacket hits the sand, and Makoto notices, for the first time, that the reason Rin's pants are sitting so low is because they're damp. Like he put them on over wet skin.

Like he's already done this once before. 

"Rin!" Makoto exclaims.

"What?" Rin strips down to his boxer briefs. Makoto doesn't even try not to stare. "I promise I won't go all the way out, I just want to get a better picture. The last one was a little blurry."

"But Rin..." 

Like always, Makoto's pleas fall on deaf ears. His stomach churns as Rin wades out into the water, the darkness closing over his body inch by inch until all Makoto can see is his head, shoulders and the hand holding the phone. The dolphins are still a fair distance away, and Makoto tries not to think about it. Tries not to acknowledge Rin out there, alone, being swallowed by the ocean.

To distract himself, he picks up Rin's clothes. His intent is to fold them but he ends up just holding them, fabric pressed against his chest.

"I got it!" Rin voice startles him and he jumps as Rin runs up the beach. "Check it out you can totally see..."

Rin stops. 

Makoto looks away.

"Oh shit." Makoto cringes as Rin realizes. "Oh shit, I forgot. Oh my God, I'm such an asshole."

"No, you're not. And what have I told you about putting yourself down?"

"Makoto, come on. This is not the time for lectures. Are you okay?"

Makoto looks down at the sand. "Yes."

"Makoto."

"All right, no," Makoto sighs. "That made me nervous even though I knew nothing was going to happen to you." 

"So it still bothers you? The ocean? I thought with training camp..."

"The training camp helped, but not as much as I would have liked." Makoto gives Rin a wan smile. "We were out in that storm."

"What?" Rin demands. " _Why?_ "

"Because Rei thought he needed extra training hours."

"In the middle of the night? In a _storm?_ "

"I didn't say it was logical reasoning." Makoto holds out Rin's clothes but Rin doesn't take them. "And everything turned out all right. But it stuck with me."

Rin grits his teeth and shakes his head. "I wish you'd told me."

"It hasn't really come up..."

"You still could have told me."

Rin finally takes his pants and jacket, slipping them on while Makoto watches. When he's dressed, they begin the silent walk back to Makoto's door, Rin's expression no longer exuberant, but subdued and pensive. It tugs at Makoto's chest, and Makoto suddenly decides he needs to take a page out of Rin's playbook. It hasn't been that long, but he still knows what he needs to say to turn Rin's mood around. 

"So, um. My parents aren't home."

Rin looks up. "What?"

"They're away." Makoto's fingers interlace with Rin's, pulling Rin closer. "They left yesterday and won't be back until next weekend."

Rin eyes him. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I thought it might help you decide whether or not you'll be spending the night." 

It's worth the twinge of embarrassment he feels to see the expression on Rin's face. "Makoto..."

"It's been a while since you stayed over," Makoto says. "And we're...I mean..." Rin is still staring and it's making Makoto more and more flustered. "I have pajamas, you know. It doesn't have to be a big deal."

Rin blinks. Slowly. "You want me to spend the night with you."

"I...yes." Makoto squeezes Rin's hand. "I want you to spend the night with me."

Rin doesn't say anything. And as the silence stretches on, Makoto gets more and more anxious, wondering if maybe he's incorrectly read all those heated glances Rin's been giving him when he thinks Makoto's not looking. 

But suddenly, Rin is pulling him again, this time toward the house, his smile brilliantly restored. "All right," he says. "Let's go." 

Makoto's heart stutters in the best way possible. "You sure?"

"Yeah," Rin says. "Yeah. Gou will cover for me."

And then he pauses. Long enough for a blush to creep into his cheeks. Long enough for Makoto to giggle, and long enough for them to kiss, slow and sweet, palms pressing together.

"Let's go," Rin says again. "And maybe...we don't worry about the pajamas."

"You're terrible," Makoto whispers, but he doesn't mean it.


End file.
